1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for controlling a digital shower system, and more particularly to a control method capable of discharging water in advance and automatically shutting off the water output in a certain period of time so as to save water.
2. Related Art
Nowadays, people are paying more and more attention to the quality of their daily lives. Besides pursuing the comfort of habitation, they also have a high demand for daily used bathing equipments.
Currently, in a common water tap of a bathing equipment, a cold water inlet pipe, a hot water inlet pipe, a valve, and an outlet pipe are disposed within a body, and the body is provided with a handle connected to the valve. The cold water inlet pipe and the hot water inlet pipe are respectively used for supplying cold water and hot water. The outlet pipe is communicated with a water outlet at an end of the body. The valve is communicated with the cold water inlet pipe, the hot water inlet pipe, and the outlet pipe, and is connected to the handle. Therefore, the handle may not only drive the valve to adjust the quantity of the water flowing out of the outlet, but also drive the valve to change the communication of the outlet pipe with the cold water inlet pipe and the hot water inlet pipe so as to adjust the temperature of the water flowing out of the outlet.
Compared with an ordinary water tap, a water tap for shower is additionally provided with a shower water outlet in communication with a shower head via a water pipe. Moreover, the tap body is further provided with a water flow selector between the shower water outlet and a universal water outlet. The water flow selector protrudes from the tap body, such that a user may adjust and select whether to allow the water to flow out from the shower water outlet or the universal water outlet.
In the above structure, the handle is manually controlled by the user to adjust the quantity and pressure of the cold water and hot water flowing through the cold water inlet pipe and the hot water inlet pipe, so as to obtain an output water flow at a desired temperature through the universal water outlet, the outlet pipe, and the water pipe connected to the shower head or the water tap. However, the accuracy of manually controlling the temperature of the water flow is low, and the user has to directly touch the outlet water to sense whether the water temperature is within a preset temperature range or not. If the outlet water temperature is too high, the user may easily be scalded. If the outlet water temperature is too low in winters, the user may easily catch a cold and feel bad. In addition, during the manual adjustment of the temperature, the water has to be kept flowing out from the water outlet (the outlet pipe), thus resulting in the waste of water and also the increase of the water cost.
Therefore, in order to allow the user to directly set the outlet water temperature in a detected manner, a control panel is used for directly setting and controlling the temperature. U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,764 discloses a fluid and gas supply system, which includes a cold water source, a hot water source, a mixing device, a flow control valve, an outlet pipe, a shower head, and a user interface. The hot water source is provided with a hot water temperature sensor at an inlet end thereof for sensing the temperature of the inlet hot water. The cold water source and the hot water source are respectively provided with a cold water supply valve and a hot water supply valve for controlling the quantity of the inlet cold water and the quantity of the inlet hot water, and are both connected to the mixing device for mixing the cold water and the hot water. A cold water supply valve sensor is disposed between the cold water source and the mixing device, and a hot water supply valve sensor is disposed between the hot water source and the mixing device, for respectively sensing the quantity of the cold water flowing into the mixing device and the quantity of the hot water flowing into the mixing device.
A mixed water flow from the mixing device passes through the flow control valve and the outlet pipe, and then flows out from the shower head for the user to take a shower. A mixed fluid temperature sensor and a fluid and gas composition sensor are sequentially mounted between the mixing device and the flow control valve for respectively sensing the temperature and pressure of the mixed water flow. The outlet pipe is provided with a flow sensor for sensing the quantity of an outlet water flow provided to the user.
After the user inputs a desired outlet water temperature into a control unit through the user interface, the control unit simultaneously controls the cold water supply valve, the hot water supply valve, the mixing device, and the flow control valve, receives temperature and pressure information from the hot water temperature sensor, the mixed fluid temperature sensor, the fluid and gas composition sensor, and the flow sensor, and then accordingly controls the valves to obtain the outlet water temperature preset by the user.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,534 discloses a shower control system, which includes two inlet pipes, a stem pipe, a shower head, and a mixing assembly. The two inlet pipes are respectively used for supplying cold water and hot water. A solenoid is disposed between each inlet pipe and the stem pipe. The solenoids are respectively used for controlling the quantities of the inlet cold water and the inlet hot water. The mixing assembly includes a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, and a control assembly. The pressure sensor and the temperature sensor are mounted on the stem pipe. A power assembly is provided for supplying power to the control assembly. The control assembly is electrically connected to the solenoids, the pressure sensor, and the temperature sensor. After a user inputs a desired outlet water temperature through the control assembly, the control assembly changes the quantities of the inlet cold water and the inlet hot water, receives information sent by the pressure sensor and the temperature sensor, compares the water temperature input by the user according to the received information, and then controls the solenoids until the outlet water temperature matches the water temperature input by the user.
Although the above structures and methods allow the user to directly input the desired outlet water temperature without sensing the outlet water temperature by directly touching the water, a lot of water is wasted in controlling the outlet water temperature. In addition, as the water flow previously left in the hot water source that does not reach the preset outlet water temperature and the water flow in the outlet pipe cannot be discharged in advance, even when the user intends to take a shower after the cold water and the hot water are mixed, the user is bound to first contact the water flow previously left in the hot water source that does not reach the preset outlet water temperature and the water flow in the outlet pipe. As such, the water flow output at first is not at the temperature preset by the user. Moreover, if the user leaves the shower room for other business and forgets to turn off the shower equipment, the shower equipment is still on and cannot be automatically turned off to compensate for the inattention of the user, thus resulting in the waste of water.
Therefore, it is the problem in urgent need of solutions to provide a method for controlling a shower system. The method allows the user to digitally input and adjust a preset outlet water temperature, and is capable of discharging water in advance before the shower system is used and automatically shutting off the water output during a shower if the user does not use the shower system in a certain period of time, so as to save the water.